


More Than Books

by eeyore9990



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-19
Updated: 2006-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-04 14:28:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5337503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeyore9990/pseuds/eeyore9990
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lavender isn’t sure that Hermione cares as much about her as she does about her causes; Hermione convinces her otherwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than Books

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this fic! I tried to incorporate all your prompts, but I must apologise for the acronym. My beta and I sat laughing at each other for an hour as we tried to find an appropriately _Hermione_ sort of acronym to use, and this was the only one that made any sense at all! Merry Christmas, Harpsichord!

Hermione settled back into the tub with a sigh, the marks left from a frustrating day at the office disappearing slowly from between her eyes as the steaming water soothed her tired body. The opening of the door disturbed the air just enough to capture Hermione’s attention and she looked at the doorway with a weary smile, stretching her hand out to accept the glass of wine from the woman standing there.

Who would ever have believed that one day Hermione Granger would be in a loving, committed relationship with Lavender Brown, of all people? Hermione still marvelled at the incongruity of life sometimes, but found that her own sense of disbelief was waning more and more every day. No matter how much of an odd couple they seemed at times, their differences simply made their relationship stronger and kept each of them from becoming bored with the other. And as beautiful as Lavender was, Hermione often felt just the tiniest bit victorious to have won her.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Hermione took a moment to appreciate her lover’s lithe form as Lavender crossed the small bathroom to perch gracefully on the edge of the old, deep, claw-foot tub. The cream-coloured satin dressing gown she wore loosely tied at her waist did very little to hide the fact that she was nude beneath it. Her dark nipples cast shadows through the material and as she shifted to find a better purchase on the lip of the tub, the belt came completely undone, allowing the sides to gape open.

Even as tired as she was, Hermione couldn’t help the small thrill that went through her when she saw the silky skin framed by the material of the gown. Taking the glass of wine from Lavender’s hand, she let her fingers ghost over the thin skin on the inside of Lavender’s wrist and watched as her eyes darkened with an awareness of her own.

“Did you talk to Luna today?” Lavender asked lightly, slipping her hand into the water to trail it over Hermione’s thigh.

Hermione slid further into the water, eyes closing again as she concentrated on the feelings Lavender’s touch evoked in her. A warm flush spread up her body, owing nothing to the heat of the water, and her nipples pebbled, peeking out of the water that was now lapping at the undersides of her breasts. Attempting to concentrate on the conversation at hand, Hermione drew a ragged breath and nodded before replying. “Yes, I did. She and Susan will be over Saturday. You’re sure you don’t mind them coming for dinner that night?”

“Why? Simply because it’s our fifth anniversary?” Lavender’s fingers stilled for a moment before she continued her light, teasing touches.

Hermione took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she tried to find the words that would make Lavender understand how important the dinner Saturday night would be for the future. In the three years since she had officially started her campaign for equal rights for gay and lesbian witches and wizards, Luna and Susan had been the first lesbian couple to officially come out. Oh, there were others, Hermione knew there had to be, but they were all too afraid of the backlash from the wizarding community to come out publicly.

“Sweetheart, I know the timing is awful, but I’m so scared that if we don’t give them as much support as possible _now_ , we’ll lose all the ground we’ve gained,” Hermione said, opening her eyes to look at Lavender, willing her to understand what a momentous step this was for the Coalition for the Understanding of Non Traditional Sexuality (C.U.N.T.S.).

“All the ground we’ve gained? Hermione, they’re our _friends_! They aren’t our friends because they’re lesbians, they aren’t our friends because we’re supportive of them—though that obviously doesn’t hurt—they’re our friends because they…” Lavender sat up, gesturing with her hands as she searched for words. Finally, after a bit of fruitless flailing, she dropped her hands in defeat, shoulders slumping slightly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the edges of her dressing gown together and tightened the sash absentmindedly before turning for the door. Just before she shut it gently behind herself, she turned back to Hermione and said, “I love you. I don’t just love the parts of you that are easy to love, I love the parts of you that infuriate and exasperate me.” Compressing her lips into a sad line, she shook her head and turned away again, the door shutting with a soft _click_.

Hermione slid under the water, staying there for a long moment, trying to understand what had just happened. Sitting up, she expelled her breath in a rush before dragging in more air, wiping water from her eyes. As she lathered her long hair, she knew that, no matter what, she was going to have to apologise to Lavender. First, though, she would have to give her partner some time to calm down. Lavender always needed a bit of space after a blow up, or she tended to say things she later regretted. Hermione sighed as she soaped her body, dunking back into the water to wash the soap from her skin and hair. Finished with her bath, she pulled the plug and stepped out, casting hasty drying charms on herself before smoothing some Muggle baby oil into her skin. Wrapping a thick, fluffy bath sheet around herself, she went in search of Lavender, hoping that she would be able to find the words to mend this breach.

After wandering through the living section of the house, she finally tried the bedroom, heart clenching in anxiety as she took in the scene in the room. Lavender was curled on the bed, wrapped around Hermione’s pillow, silent tears leaving silvery tracks down her cheeks. Hermione hurried into the room, dropping her towel as she slid onto the bed, gathering Lavender in her arms and pulling her back against her chest.

“I’m sorry, love.”

Lavender gave a small, hurt-sounding chuckle at that and shook her head, remaining silent. Finally, with a resigned sigh, she said, “I know, Hermione. I know.”

“I… what can I do, Lavender? How can I make this right?”

Lavender went stiff in her arms, prompting Hermione to sit up and gently push Lavender’s hair out of her face so she could see her better. But Lavender just stared at the far wall.

“Please, sweetheart, I can’t stand to see you this upset. I’ll cancel the dinner, okay? I promise.”

Lavender squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head, another tear escaping before she spoke, her voice thick with pain. “I don’t want you to cancel the dinner, Hermione. It’s what you want to do, so just leave it, okay?”

Hermione stopped breathing, fear lancing through her. Lifting a shaking hand, she gently ran one finger over Lavender’s clenched jaw, feeling helpless and… clueless. It was such an alien emotion that Hermione didn’t know what to do to make it go away, and that made her desperate. Feeling frantic, she wrapped her arm around Lavender, holding her tightly as she said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Lavender.” Not knowing what else to say to make this better, she whispered again, “I’m sorry.”

Lavender turned in her arms, forcing Hermione to loosen her grip, and said, her gaze fierce, “Why, Hermione? _Why_ are you sorry?”

Hermione pushed up onto one elbow, gaze dropping as she searched for the right thing to say. “Because. Because I love you and you’re hurting and upset and… and I want…”

Lavender pushed out of Hermione’s embrace and sat up, running one hand through her hair in frustration as she said, “Then you’re not really sorry, are you?”

Hermione spread her hands, helpless. She knew they had gone beyond what had initially upset Lavender, but she didn’t know what the argument was about anymore. And they never fought. Never. When they got upset with each other, they always just left the room, or the conversation, or whatever it was until they had worked out for themselves whatever had upset them. So Hermione had no idea what she should do, or say, to restore peace to their relationship.

Lavender stood and started pacing around the room, her cheeks flushed with emotion, making her so beautiful it was almost painful for Hermione to look at her. When she started speaking again, Hermione went still, paying attention with everything in her, because she knew that this was the most important conversation of her life.

“Hermione, you're so smart it scares me sometimes, but in this... you have no idea why I'm upset, you just know you don't want me to be. Well, I'll tell you why. It's because you continually put everything ahead of _us_ and... and sometimes I want _us_ to be first for you. Not C.U.N.T.S., not the Ministry, or your job, or Harry, or Ron, or... Luna and Susan. US! _Me_...”

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, tumbling from the bed as she rushed to gather Lavender in her arms, almost missing Lavender’s next words because her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears.

“Maybe it's selfish and maybe I'm asking far too much, but why shouldn't I? Why shouldn't I expect you to put me, your partner, before everything else, just once?” Lavender’s voice was small and quiet, bewildered almost.

Hermione shook her head, burying her face in Lavender’s throat, arms winding around the taller woman as she choked out her reply. “Always. You’re always first, and if you can’t see that, then I’ve failed you and I’m doing this all wrong, because nothing—NOTHING—is more important to me than you. Oh, god, Lavender, I love you so much and I’m so sorry that I haven’t shown you that in a hundred thousand ways.” Pulling back, Hermione blinked through the tears that clouded her vision and brought her hands up to cup Lavender’s face. “You are everything to me. I know I get involved with other things a lot, and sometimes I spend more time than I should on my projects, but everything I do… it’s all because I love you and I want you to be happy and… and proud of me. Proud of us. Please, Lavender, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry I didn’t see what I was doing. I’m sorry I made you feel that anything would ever come before you.”

Lavender’s face crumpled and she leaned forward, stopping Hermione’s jumble of words with her lips. After a brief kiss, she slowly wound her arms around Hermione and said, “Part of what made me fall in love with you was your passion. You feel so deeply about these issues that you embrace that sometimes… sometimes I wonder if there could possibly be anything left over for me.” Her lips quirked up sadly as she touched her forehead to Hermione’s. “I should have known you’d never run out of passion, hmm?” The light note she forced into her voice was obviously meant to appease, to make the tension go away, but Hermione was having none of that.

“Passion? Oh, Lavender, what I feel for you is so much more than mere passion.” She pushed against Lavender, backing her up until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the mattress and gently eased her down onto it until her gorgeous dark hair was spread out around her, the bottom of the dressing gown sliding open. Hermione knelt at the edge of the bed, gaze fierce as she looked at Lavender. “So beautiful, so desirable, all I want to do all day is look at you, picture you here like this. Do you know why I have to write notes at work? Because if I don’t have them to refer to, I’d be caught several times a day, not knowing what I’m supposed to be doing because all I can think about is you.”

She lowered her head, nuzzling Lavender’s belly. “I can’t even read a book anymore without thoughts of you, what you might be doing, distracting me. I love you more than books, Lavender.” She tipped her head up and made sure Lavender was paying attention before she said that again. “I, Hermione Granger, love you, Lavender Brown, more than I love books.” She watched Lavender, not moving until Lavender nodded her understanding. Smiling wickedly, she rolled her face under, pressing her lips in a kiss to Lavender’s navel before she used her teeth to undo the knot on the sash holding the gown together. When it released, she sighed raggedly and slid her hands under the material, wanting to touch Lavender, to luxuriate in every bit of that silky skin.

“I love you,” she breathed against Lavender’s chest, just above her rapidly beating heart.

“I love you,” she whispered just before she opened her mouth and tugged one hardened nipple into her mouth, laving it with her tongue as she rolled the other between her fingers.

“I love you,” she sighed against Lavender’s neck, licking at it lightly before biting down just the slightest bit.

“I love you,” they both moaned against each other’s lips, their bodies sliding against one another so naturally.

There was nothing rushed about their lovemaking. They took their time, hand drawing languid patterns on the other’s skin, lips seeking out spots they knew would make their partner’s breath catch in hunger. It was beautiful and sensual, a stolen moment of time to treasure each other properly.

When Hermione slid between Lavender’s legs, she could feel the tremors coursing through her lover and she couldn’t stop a small, anticipatory shudder from wracking her own frame. Pressing light kisses to Lavender’s inner thighs, she slowly dragged her lips up until they were poised just over the well-groomed nest of curls. There she paused until she heard Lavender’s breath catch in expectation, then she slowly pushed her tongue through the curls until she tasted her prize. Lavender was so wet, so needy, and it was all right there, laid out for Hermione to discover, and she took her time seeking out every bit, every drop, every trace of the essence of the passion that blazed so high in Lavender when they were together like this.

“I love you,” she mouthed against Lavender’s entrance before she slid her tongue in, rubbing it slowly and sensually against every bit of soft, wet flesh she could reach. She kept that up until Lavender’s fingers twisted in her hair, the gasping moans that poured from her telling Hermione that she was close, and that just one more thing would push her over the edge. At the same time she slid her tongue up to flicker rapidly over Lavender’s hardened clitoris, she brought her hand up and thrust two fingers into her, forcing them in over and over until she felt Lavender stiffen and cry out, the delicate inner muscles clenching around her fingers even as more wetness flooded down onto them. She continued her assault until Lavender was shivering and shaking, crying out for Hermione, until Lavender could stand it no more.

“I love you,” she said, sliding up to share the pure taste of passion with Lavender.

~*~

Later that evening, after she sent off the owl to reschedule the Saturday dinner with Susan and Luna, Hermione settled on the couch with Lavender, arms wrapped around each other as they stared into the warm, cosy fire.

Lavender suddenly squeezed her tightly and pressed a kiss to her hair as she said, “I love you, too.”

Hermione hid her smile in Lavender’s throat as she quietly asked, barely a trace of laughter in her voice as she said, “Ah, but do you love me more than books?”

The sound of their laughter echoed through the small house for long moments, and all was at peace once again.


End file.
